Nike is buying back $12 billion worth of
itself. After the market closed on Thursday, Nike
announced a $12 billion stock-repurchase authorization, a 14%
dividend hike, and a 2-for-1 stock split, which will go into
effect on December 24.

Gap
slashed its outlook. Gap announced that sales fell
3% year-over-year to $3.86 billion. Comparable-store sales across
the company's brands — Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy — fell
2%. Earnings came in at $0.63 per share, which was right in line
with expectations. "With a challenging third quarter behind
us, we are sharply focused on holiday execution across all
channels," CEO Art Peck said in the earnings
statement.

Google makes a high-profile hire. Google
hired VMware cofounder Diane Greene to lead its cloud-computing
business. "Greene will lead a new team combining all our
cloud businesses, including Google for Work, Cloud Platform, and
Google Apps," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said. "This new business
will bring together product, engineering, marketing, and sales
and allow us to operate in a much more integrated, coordinated
fashion."

Tyson is shutting down two meat plants.
"Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest US meat processor, said it would
stop operations at two of its plants in the United States,
affecting about 880 employees," Reuters' Ramkumar Iyer reports.
"The company said it expects to cease operations at a pepperoni
plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin, and a prepared foods facility in
Chicago, Illinois, during the second half of the year ending Oct.
1."

RBC forecasts the S&P 500 to gain 10% from here
through 2016. In a note to clients on Friday, RBC
Capital's Jonathan Golub writes that he sees the S&P 500
rallying to 2,300 by the end of 2016. "Our constructive 2016
outlook is predicated upon stabilizing commodity prices, and an
incrementally higher dollar and rates," Golub wrote. "All of this
should result in a substantially higher earnings trajectory as
well as a modest re-rating of stocks."